Solution, or Mess? A Milk Jug for a Green Earth - NYTimes.com
So, I just got one of these new milk jugs for the first time at Sam's Club. I was a little perplexed by it, because it has instructions on it. "Just tilt and pour." Maybe I'm an idiot, but that's pretty much what I did with the old jugs, so it works out fine, even if instructions hadn't been provided.
So, I was even more surprised to find this article about it. Are people really this retarded? So, I poured a glass of milk just to make sure there's not some hidden challenge to it. Nope, nothing, it seems to obey the same laws of physics that the old ones did. When you tilt it, the milk comes out of the hole in the top. You just need to get your glass somewhere between that hole and the floor. Not really all that difficult. And frankly, even if it was 10 times are hard to pour as the old jugs (still making it not that hard), the benefits detailed in the article make the switch easily worthwhile. Except, I couldn't quite figure out this one:
Others, even those who rue the day their tried-and-true jugs were replaced, praised the lower cost, from $2.18 to $2.58 a gallon. Sam’s Club said that was a savings of 10 to 20 cents a gallon compared with old jugs.
2.58 seems like more than 2.18, but even if they just got that backwards, I'm not sure how that comes out to 10 or 20 cents a gallon. Anyway, I'd be pretty happy to pay either price. Even at Sam's Club, where it's much cheaper than everywhere else, milk still costs about 3.35 a gallon here.
3 comments:
Seems pretty simple. People are stupid.
I hate the monopolistic creeps from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club just as much as the next guy, so I'm only writing to cure your wonder. Rather than phrasing it the way they did, it should have read, "they RANGE in price from $2.18 to $2.58 a gallon." In reference to the instruction manual on the container, YES, people ARE really, truly, completely, that retarded.
My first exposure to these jugs was at my sister's (she has five kids) house over Christmas. She told me the leading theory among Mom's is that these jugs were invented by the paper towel industry.
My engineering evaluation was it is hard to not spill a little when the jug is full but gets easier as the jug is used. One of the problems with the design is that there is no natural air pocket so the milk jug when full does not pour evenly.
It is also difficult for a little kid (~ 6 years old) to pour since the weight is a bigger obstacle to them than for an adult.
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